A University assignment completed by myself and Andrew De Zylvia about music in the 80's and 90's.

1. Music in the 80’s and 90’s
The 80’s and 90’s produced some
of the biggest bands and stars
who left a mark, not only on their
decade, but on the decades
succeeding.
By looking through the different
genres of Pop, Rock and Hip Hop
we aim to outline the impact they
made on music in the decade that
defined them.

2. • Authoritative so we could see not only
that it was from a credible site, but have
the authors name and date it was
published.
• Clear from objectivity, so we stayed
clear of fans sites as the information
was likely to be biased.
• Relevant to what we was researching
for, covering facts in the 80’s and 90’s
rather than other decades.
• Articles that had great coverage of the
decade allowed us to gain greater
insight into music for our chosen
decade.

3. Michael Jackson’s Thriller released
on December 4 1982 had sold as of
2013 over 66 million copies
worldwide, producing hits such as
Billie Jean and Thriller. This came
along with 8 Grammy’s including
best album of 1983.
Whitney Houston’s self-titled album
broke records in 1987 after selling
more than 7 million copies becoming
the highest selling female artist since
records began.

4. After their Album Appetite for destruction
debut at 187 on the billboard 200, it took
Guns and rose’s just under a year of
exposure to hit number 1 and go on to sell
over 30 million copies worldwide.
After Bon Scott passed away,
ACDC were nervous about
releasing another album. The
feeling soon changed after selling
over 35 million copies, becoming
Australia’s biggest band of the
80’s.

5. License to Ill spent 7 straight weeks
at number 1 and was the first ever
Rap based group to reach that
position. The album went on to sell
over 9 million copies in the US.
Run DMC’s Raising Hell was the first
ever Hip Hop album to go platinum, and
then when on to sell over 3 million
copies. A collaboration of Rock and Hip
Hop in the song ‘walk this way’ helped
resurrect Aerosmith’s career.

6. Mariah Carey took the music world by
storm upon release of her first album,
Mariah Carey, and having 4
consecutive number one singles. It
also went multi-platinum. Her song
with Boyz II Men, One sweet day, is
still to this day, the longest running
number one song in U.S. History at 16
weeks.
The backstreet boys were probably the
most prominent boy band of the decade,
selling more than 130 million albums,
more than any other boy band in history.
They had more 8 top ten hits in the US
over a span of 3 years.

7. The Red Hot Chili Peppers
came into international fame in
the 90’s after the success of
the album, Blood, Sugar, Sex,
Magik. The Album contained
the song Give it away and
became their first number 1
single. They would later go on
to be inducted into Rock and
Roll’s hall of fame
Nirvana was a grunge/rock band
that have come to be known as
one of the most influential rock
bands in the modern era. In
2004, Rolling Stone placed
Nirvana at number 27 on their
list of the "100 Greatest Artists
of All Time”.

8. Tupac Shakur made a name for
himself in the 90s, before his
untimely passing, as one of the
greatest and most influential
rappers of all time. He has sold
over 75 million albums worldwide,
and is ranked number 86 out of the
100 greatest artists of all time.
Christopher Wallace AKA The Notorious
BIG, like Tupac, is considered one of the
best hip hop artists of all time. Rolling
Stone classified him as the greatest
rapper who ever lived due to his unique
storytelling ability.

9. By researching reliable and credible articles on sites
such as Billboard, it allowed us to gain the
authoritative information revealing authors names and
dates that we needed. Choosing sites like these also
allowed us to stay clear of fan sites, which were
usually unable to stay objective about a particular
artist. We found sites that had no motive other than to
talk about facts. Relevant information was successful
but, we were careful not to research a time in their
career not in our chosen decade. There was a large
amount of information on the web about music in the
80’s and 90’s so this easily allowed us to find good
coverage for the musicians we researched.

11. REFERENCING
New Yorker, Did Thriller really sell a hundred million copies? 2014, Viewed on the 6th of September
>http://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/did-thriller-really-sell-a-hundred-million-copies<
Grammy, Nominee search results, 2014, Viewed on the 6th of September
>http://www.grammy.com/nominees/search?artist=%22Michael+Jackson%22&field_nominee_wor
k_value=&year=All&genre=All<
Billboard, Houston crosses 7 million mark, 2014, Viewed on the 6th of September
>http://books.google.co.kr/books?id=ESUEAAAAMBAJ&lpg=PA1&lr&rview=1&pg=PA7#v=onepag
e&q&f=false<
Billboard, Guns and Roses Appetite for destruction at 25, 2014, Viewed on the 6th of September
>http://www.billboard.com/articles/review/1066907/guns-n-roses-appetite-for-destruction-at-25-
classic-track-by-track <
Billboard, Beastie Boys Blazed Billboard Chart History, 2014, Viewed on the 6th of September
>http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/489107/beastie-boys-blazed-billboard-chart-history<
Billboard, 1987 The Year in Music and Video, 2014, Viewed on 6th of September
> http://books.google.com.au/books?id=JCgEAAAAMBAJ&pg=RA1-PA43&lpg=RA1-
PA43&dq=bon+jovi+slippery+when+wet+album+billboard&source=bl&ots=4-DGgu4G98&sig=2lq-
QHzaTGX6e9YhqPpYuXrJxLY&hl=en&sa=X&ei=ngMLVKjcNMe5uASWtIKgBQ&ved=0CFwQ6AE
wDA#v=onepage&q=bon%20jovi%20slippery%20when%20wet%20album%20billboard&f=false<
Stop The Breaks, Raising Hell first Hip-Hop album to go platinum, 2014, Viewed on the 6th of
September
> http://www.stopthebreaks.com/hip-hop-gems/raising-hell-first-hip-hop-album-to-go-platinum/<

12. REFERENCING
AllMusic, (2014). Red Hot Chili Peppers | Music Biography, Credits and Discography | AllMusic. [online] Available
at: http://www.allmusic.com/artist/red-hot-chili-peppers-mn0000883318 [Accessed 10 Sep. 2014].
Chapman, A. and Maloy, S. (2014). Billboard Chart Record-Breakers: The Longest Music Moments Ever. [online]
Billboard. Available at: http://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/chart-beat/470364/billboard-chart-record-breaking-
songs-albums-longest-music-moments-ever [Accessed 10 Sep. 2014].
hayden, J. (2014). The List: Best boy bands. [online] The Washingtion Times. Available at:
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/apr/29/list-best-boy-bands/ [Accessed 10 Sep. 2014].
Press, A. (2014). Rock Hall of Fame Inducts Red Hot Chili Peppers, Beastie Boys and Guns N' Roses - Hollywood
Reporter. [online] The Hollywood Reporter. Available at: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/rock-hall-fame-red-
hot-chili-peppers-beastie-boys-guns-roses-312204 [Accessed 10 Sep. 2014].
Rockonthenet.com, (2004). Rock On The Net: Rolling Stone's The Immortals: The 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.
[online] Available at: http://www.rockonthenet.com/archive/2004/immortals.htm [Accessed 10 Sep. 2014].
Rolling Stone, (2014). Notorious B.I.G., 'Juicy' - The 50 Greatest Hip-Hop Songs of All Time. [online] Available at:
http://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/the-50-greatest-hip-hop-songs-of-all-time-20121205/notorious-b-i-g-juicy-
19691231 [Accessed 10 Sep. 2014].
Rolling Stone, (2014). Tupac Shakur - 100 Greatest Artists. [online] Available at:
http://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/100-greatest-artists-of-all-time-19691231/tupac-shakur-20110420
[Accessed 10 Sep. 2014].
The Rich List, (2014). Mariah Carey - The Rich List. [online] Available at: http://richlistgroup.com/mariah-carey/
[Accessed 10 Sep. 2014].
Times, H. (2012). Happy Birthday Tupac! - Hindustan Times. [online] http://www.hindustantimes.com/. Available at:
http://www.hindustantimes.com/Entertainment/Music/Happy-Birthday-Tupac/Article1-873331.aspx [Accessed 10
Sep. 2014].